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US Appeals Court Halts Construction of Trump's White House Ballroom

evening · · thread: US Appeals Court Halts Construction of Trump's White House Ballroom

12 sources across 9 countries

Who reported this

  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Sueddeutsche Zeitung Germany · Centre-left · Sudwestdeutsche Medien Holding
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • UOL Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Folha
  • La Tercera Chile · Centre-right · Copesa (Saieh family)
  • South China Morning Post Hong Kong · Centre-right · Alibaba Group
  • Aftenposten Norway · Centre-right · Schibsted, Tinius Trust foundation
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

A federal appeals court in the District of Columbia has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to stop construction of a monumental ballroom at the White House. In a 2 to 1 ruling, the court determined that the president cannot fundamentally reshape the White House without the approval of Congress. The court stated that the decision of whether to build a massive ballroom is a matter for the legislative branch and not a unilateral issue for the executive branch. The ruling upholds a previous preliminary injunction and gives the administration 14 days to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.

The project is located on the site of the former East Wing, which was demolished in October. The planned ballroom is intended to accommodate up to 1,000 guests for state banquets and formal functions. While the administration has estimated the cost at 400 million dollars, other reports cite estimates as high as 600 million dollars. President Trump has asserted that the project is funded by private donations and will not cost taxpayers any money. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non profit organization, brought the legal challenge against the project.

President Trump has defended the construction as a service to national security. He claims the complex includes six underground levels containing military installations, a hospital, and bomb shelters, as well as a drone platform. The administration also argued the project is necessary for large formal events, a point that gained traction following an attempted assassination of the president on April 25.

Outlets with a center left lean frame the project as a prestige project and an attempt by the president to leave a personal mark on the city of Washington. Outlets with a center right lean emphasize the legal tension regarding presidential authority and the specific security justifications provided by the administration.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These sources frame the ballroom as a prestige project and part of a broader effort by Trump to reshape Washington to create a personal monument.
Centre
These sources provide a neutral summary of the court's ruling and the basic facts of the construction project.
Centre-right
These sources focus on the legal conflict over executive authority and the administration's arguments regarding national security.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.